The present invention relates to a musical instrument stand used for mounting a musical instrument such as a marching drum.
In the spectators' stand of a stadium, seats are arranged in rows forming stairs from the field toward the outside of the stadium. In the stadium, marching drum stands (hereinafter, referred to as drum stands) are often mounted on the seats of the spectators' stand, and the marching drums are played while cheering. With this as a background, some drum stands that can be placed not only on a flat ground, but also across a step such as a stair have been proposed.
For example, according to a drum stand 130 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,910, a pair of semi-circular upper collars 131a, 131b are slidably fitted to a front circumferential surface 133a and a rear circumferential surface 133b of a center pipe 133, respectively, as shown in FIG. 10. Also, a pair of semi-circular lower collars 132a, 132b are slidably fitted to the front circumferential surface 133a and the rear circumferential surface 133b of the center pipe 133, respectively. A certain leg 134 and a stay 135, which is coupled to the leg 134, are coupled to the upper collar 131b and the lower collar 132b, which slide along the rear circumferential surface 133b of the center pipe 133. Also, remaining two legs 136 and stays 137, which are coupled to the legs 136, are coupled to the upper collar 131a and the lower collar 132a, which slide along the front circumferential surface 133a of the center pipe 133.
According to a drum stand 140 shown in FIG. 11, fixed collars 142a, 142b are fitted to the middle portion and the lower end of a center pipe 141, respectively. Also, movable collars 143a, 143b are slidably fitted to the center pipe 141 between the fixed collars 142a, 142b. Relatively long two legs 144 and stays 145, which are connected to the legs 144, are coupled to the fixed collars 142a, 142b, respectively. The stays 145 are slidably coupled to the legs 144 via rings 145a. A relatively short leg 146 and a stay 147, which is coupled to the leg 146, are coupled to the movable collars 143a, 143b, respectively. The stay 147 is pivotally coupled to the middle of the leg 146 via a coupling pin 147a. The drum stands 130, 140 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 are configured such that the height of the certain leg among three legs forming a tripod structure can be adjusted independently of the other legs.
Furthermore, according to a drum stand 150 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,703,725, an extension plate 152 is supported to be slidable with respect to a certain leg 151a among three legs 151 as shown in FIG. 12. The drum stand 150 is used with the three legs 151 set to the same length on a flat ground. At the spectators' stand of the stadium, the drum stand 150 is used with the leg 151a oriented toward the field (right side in FIG. 12), and the distal end 152a of the extension plate 152 extended until it reaches a seat surface SE of the spectators' stand. That is, the drum stand 150 disclosed in this publication is configured such that the length of the certain leg 151a among three legs 151, which form the tripod structure, can be adjusted independently of the other legs.
However, in the cases of the drum stands 130, 140 disclosed in FIGS. 10 and 11, the number of manipulated portions N is increased that are manipulated when selectively opening and closing the legs 134, 136, 144, 146 with respect to the center pipe 133, 141, and when adjusting the height of the legs 134, 146 in accordance with the location. Therefore, in addition to the problem that manipulations for selectively opening and closing the drum stands 130, 140 and placing the drum stands 130, 140 are complicated, the number of components is increased, thereby increasing the manufacturing costs.
In the case of the drum stand 150 shown in FIG. 12, since the length of only the certain leg 151a among the three legs 151 can be adjusted, it is difficult to place the drum stand 150 across a step. Also, even in the drum stand 150 shown in FIG. 12, since the leg structure for slidably supporting the extension plate 152 with respect to the leg 151a is complicated and the number of components is increased, the manufacturing costs are increased.